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The effect of influencer marketing of food and a “protective” advertising disclosure on children's food intake

2019; Wiley; Volume: 14; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/ijpo.12540

2047-6310

Anna Coates, Charlotte A. Hardman, Jason C. G. Halford, Paul Christiansen, E. Boyland,

Technology Adoption and User Behaviour

Children are active on social media and consequently are exposed to new and subtle forms of food marketing.To examine whether exposure to a YouTube video featuring influencer marketing of an unhealthy snack affects children's ad libitum snack intake and whether inclusion of an advertising disclosure moderates this effect.In a randomized between-subjects design, 151 children (aged 9-11 y; mean, 10.32 y ± 0.6) were exposed to influencer marketing of a non-food product (n = 51), or an unhealthy snack with (n = 50) or without (n = 50) an advertising disclosure. Participants' ad libitum intake of the marketed snack and an alternative brand of the same snack was measured.Children exposed to food marketing with (P < .001, d = 1.40) and without (P < .001, d = 1.07) a disclosure consumed more (kcals) of the marketed snack relative to the alternative; the control did not differ (.186, d = 0.45). Consumption of the alterative brand did not differ across conditions (.287, ηp2 = .02). Children who viewed food marketing with a disclosure (and not those without) consumed 41% more of the marketed snack (.004, ηp2 = .06), compared with control.Influencer marketing increases children's immediate intake of the promoted snack relative to an alternative brand. Advertising disclosures may enhance the effect.